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'Che  Lincoln  Fellowship. 

Proceedings  of  the  First  Annual 
Meeting  and  Dinner,  Mew  York, 
Febo  12,  1908, 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


the  Class  of  1901 


founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


THE  LINCOLN 
FELLOWSHIP 


NEW  YORK 
FEBRUARY   12,   1908 


^^ OiX-t^^-^ 


Proceedings  at  the  First  Annual 
Meeting  and  Dinner  of  the 
Lincoln  Fellowship,  held  at 
Delmonico's,  New  York  City, 
Wednesday,  February  12th,  1908. 


New  York 
The  Lincoln  Fellowship 


Copyright,  1908,  by 
THE  LINCOLN  FELLOWSHIP 


"11 

V.  I 


Contents 


PAGE 

Speech  of  Major  William  H.  Lambert 5 

Letter  from  Mr.  Frederick  Trevor  Hill 9 

Letter  from  Hon.  Frederick  W.  Seward 9 

Letter  from  Mr.  Jesse  W.  Weik 10 

Letter  from  Colonel  Alexander  K.  McClure . .   11 
Speech  of  Major-General  Tcherep  Spiridovitch  13 

Speech  of  Hon.  Samnel  E.  Thayer 16 

Speech  of  Mr.  Horace  White 19 

Speech  of  Mr.  Charles  W.  McLellan 24 

Speech  of  Mr.  Joseph  B.  Oakleaf 27 

Speech  of  General  James  Grant  Wilson 29 

Speech  of  General  Stewart  L.  Woodford ....  40 

Poem  by  Mr.  Frederick  Hill  Meserve 47 

Letter  from  Judge  Isaac  N.  Phillips 47 

Letter  from  Judge  Daniel  Fish 51 

Letter  from  Dr.  Henry  S.  Burrage 53; 

Letter  from  Mr.  Truman  H.  Bartlett 55* 

Letter  from  Eev.  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones 56; 

Letter  from  Hon.  Eobert  T.  Lincoln 57 

Letter  from  Hon.  Grover  Cleveland 57 

Business  Meeting   58 

Officers  and  Members 60 


Annual  Meeting,  1908 

THE  MEETING  was  held  at  Delmonico 's. 
Fifth  Avenue  and  Forty-fourth  Street, 
New  York  City,  at  6.30  P.  M.  The  fol- 
lowing members  were  present:  Major 
William  H.  Lambert,  President;  General  James 
Grant  Wilson,  Charles  W.  McLellan,  Judd  Stew- 
art, Joseph  B.  Oakleaf,  Vice-Presidents ;  Francis 
D.  Tandy,  Secretary;  Judd  Stewart,  Treasurer; 
Horace  White,  Hugh  McLellan,  Malcolm  N. 
McLellan,  Frederick  H.  Meserve,  Daniel  H.  New- 
hall,  Harry  Douglas  Eobins,  and  Telamon  Cuyler. 
The  following  guests  were  also  present:  Count 
A.  T.  Spiridovitch,  Hon.  Samuel  R.  Thayer,  Gen. 
Stewart  L.  Woodford,  George  T.  Lambert,  John 
C.  McCall,  C.  K.  Lipman  and  0.  B.  Perry. 

After  dinner  The  President  called  the  meeting 
to  order. 

Speech  of  the  President. 

Now,  Gentlemen,  as  the  time  has  arrived  when 
it  is  customary  to  indulge  in  some  remarks,  as 
your  presiding  officer  I  begin  that  part  of  the 
evening's  entertainment  and,  as  this  is  the  first 
meeting  of  The  Lincoln  Fellowship  that  I  have 
attended,  I  thank  you  for  the  great  honor  you 
have  done  me  in  electing  me  your  President.  I 
assure  you  I  highly  appreciate  the  honor  coming 
from   men    who    are    associated   in    the   worthy 


6  Lincoln  Fellowship 

cause  of  cherishing  the  memory  and  preserving 
and  enhancing  the  Hterature  that  records  the 
services  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Looking  over  the 
Hst  of  the  members  of  The  Lincoln  Fellowship, 
I  reahze  the  fact  that  we  have  enrolled  a  large 
proportion  of  those  now  living  who  have  done 
most  by  speeches  and  letters,  by  contributions  to 
magazines  and  by  pamphlets  and  books  to  pay 
tribute  to  Abraham  Lincoln's  work  and  worth. 
Many  of  our  members  have  made  notable  con- 
tributions to  his  history.  I  suppose  that  many 
of  us  had  been  under  the  impression  that  all  that 
could  be  said  about  Lincoln  had  been  said,  and 
that  all  the  information  concerning  him  had  been 
published  long  ago.  With  the  research  that  had 
been  going  on  for  so  many  years,  it  seemed  as 
though  there  could  be  nothing  left  unpublished, 
and  yet  now  and  then  some  new  work  appears 
which  makes  a  distinct  contribution  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  our  hero.  Or  if  the  contribution  is  not 
always  of  new  facts,  it  is  in  such  restatement  of 
old  facts  as  to  make  a  valuable  addition  to 
Lincoln  literature. 

A  notable  contribution  both  to  the  history  and 
appraisement  of  Lincoln  is  that  contained  in  the 
recently  published  Reminiscences  of  Carl  Schurz. 
Schurz's  account  of  his  first  interviews  with 
Lincoln  is  extremely  interesting,  and  affords  as 
well  an  admirable  description  of  the  spirit  that 
animated  the  Eepublican  Party  in  its  youth,  and 
inspired  the  Volunteers  of  1861.    Schurz's  narra- 


Major  Lambert 


tive  characterization  of  Lincoln,  supplementing 
his  remarkable  essay  in  review  of  the  Nicolay  S 
Hay  History  constitutes,  in  my  judgment,  a 
tribute  to  Lincoln  that  has  not  been  surpassed. 

The  book,  Lincoln  the  Master  of  Men,  while 
recording  no  new  facts,  so  restates  old  ones  as  to 
justify  the  claim  that  Lincoln  was  indeed  master 
of  men  and  dominated  all  about  him. 

The  articles  by  David  Homer  Bates  in  the 
Century  Magazine,  Lincoln  in  the  Telegraph 
Office,  have  added  to  our  knowledge  by  recording 
many  interesting  incidents  not  generally  known. 

In  the  article  in  Harper's  Monthly,  purporting 
to  be  by  one  of  the  doorkeepers  at  the  White 
House,  it  is  stated  that  if  the  guard  who  had  been 
assigned  to  duty  with  the  President  on  the  night 
of  April  14,  1865,  had  been  faithful  to  his  trust, 
Lincoln  would  probably  have  escaped  assassina- 
tion. When  I  saw  this  statement  I  thought  it 
was  the  first  printed  reference  to  this  fact,  but 
later  looking  over  the  book  Behind  the  Scenes  I 
found,  that  on  the  day  following  the  assassination 
Mrs.  Lincoln  accused  the  guard  of  his  respon- 
sibility for  the  great  calamity,  but  his  name  is 
not  mentioned,  so  I  think  that  Crook's  article  is 
the  first  to  give  the  name  of  the  derelict. 

One  of  our  members  here  present,  with  an  un- 
selfishness which  we  all  appreciate,  has  put  into 
print  in  most  beautiful  facsimile  a  hitherto  un- 
published letter  of  Lincoln's,  both  pleasant  and 
interesting.     I  commend  the  generous  action  of 


8  Lincoln  Fellowship 

Mr.  Judd  Stewart  in  sharing  with  us  the  letter 
to  General  Fogg.    (Applause.) 

Another  contribution  by  one  of  our  members  is 
in  the  shape  of  an  analysis  of  the  Gettysburg 
Address.  Besides  the  booklet  of  Mr.  Oakleaf, 
four  other  books  or  papers  have  recently  been 
inspired  by  this  Address,  that  of  Chaplain  Bur- 
rage  being  the  most  considerable,  that  of  Mr. 
Carr  being  particularly  notable  because  he  was 
present  at  the  dedication  of  the  Gettysburg  Ceme- 
tery as  a  Commissioner  from  Illinois.  Despite 
all  that  has  been  said  on  the  subject,  credence  is 
still  given  to  the  statement  that  Lincoln  wrote  his 
Address  whilst  on  the  train,  en  route  to  the  battle- 
field. Mrs.  Andrews'  beautiful  little  story.  The 
Perfect  Tribute,  unfortunately  helps  to  per- 
petuate the  error  and  also  adds  another  of  her 
own.  A  paper  by  your  speaker,  written  but  not 
yet  published,  strives  to  combat  some  of  the 
errors  regarding  the  Address  and  its  delivery. 

Undoubtedly  the  centenary  of  Lincoln's  birth 
will  add  many  books  to  his  literature.  But  beyond 
all  other  books  in  value,  is  the  publication  of 
Lincoln's  Works  in  enlarged  and  better  form;  for 
completeness  the  edition  lately  issued  by  the  com- 
pany of  which  our  Secretary  is  head  is  especially 
notable  and  a  matter  of  congratulation  for  our- 
selves. 

The  number  of  those  who  knew  Lincoln  person- 
ally is  rapidly  diminishing,  and  it  is  by  the  collec- 


Major  Lambert 


tion   and   compilation   of  his   writings   that   the 
historian  of  the  future  will  be  most  helped. 

We  have  letters  from  members  unable  to  be 
present  this  evening,  some  of  which  I  will  now 
read. 

Lettee  from  Frederick  Trevor  Hill. 

56  Wall  St.,  Jan.  22,  1908. 

My  dear  General: — I  have  your  kind  note  of  the 
21st  and  greatly  regret  that  a  previous  engage- 
ment of  long  standing,  to  speak  at  the  Lincoln 
Club  at  Brooklyn  on  February  12  will  prevent  my 
addressing  the  Lincoln  Fellowship  on  that  even- 
ing. I  am  truly  sorry  for  this,  as  I  would  very 
much  like  to  meet  you  and  renew  my  acquaintance 
with  your  good  President  and  others  whose  inter- 
est in  Lincoln  is  of  a  character  best  calculated  to 
honor  his  memory. 

With  renewed  regrets,  I  am. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

Frederick  Trevor  Hill. 

General  Jas.  Grant  Wilson. 

Letter  from  Frederick  W.  Seward. 

Montrose,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  10,  1908. 
My  dear  General: — Much  as  it  would  gratify  me 
to  accept  your  kind  invitation  for  Wednesday 
evening,  I  find  I  must  deny  myself  that  pleasure. 
By  the  advice  of  Mrs.  Seward's  physician,  I  have 
cancelled  all  engagements  for  this  week  that 
would  require  my  absence  from  home. 

But  though  I  shall  be  unable  to  join  you  at  the 
table,  may  I  offer  you  a  toast  for  the  occasion? 

"Lincoln. — In  life,  the  Union's  chief  defender, 


10         Lincoln  Fellowship 

— in  death,  a  link  in  the  chain  that  holds  it  to- 
gether. ' ' 

Your  Eussian  friend  is  quite  right  about  the 
fleets  in  1863.  There  were  two — one  sent  to  New 
York  and  Washington,  the  other  to  San  Francisco. 
Both  were  meant,  and  were  accepted  at  every 
European  court  as  meaning,  an  entente  cordials 
between  Eussia  and  the  United  States. 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

Feedekick  W.  Sewaed. 

Geneeal  Jas.  Geant  Wilson. 


Lettee  feom  Jesse  W.  Weik. 

Geeencastle^  Ind,^  Feb.  8,  1908. 

My  dear  Sir: — Yours  of  the  30  ult.,  inviting 
me  to  speak  at  the  dinner  at  Delmonico's  on  the 
12th,  before  the  Lincoln"  Fellowship,  has  been 
received.  For  a  while  after  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  I  indulged  the  hope  that  I  might  be  able 
to  attend,  but  a  prolonged  attack  of  laryngitis, 
aggravated  by  a  recent  spell  of  severe  weather, 
has  emboldened  my  physician  to-day  to  forbid 
the  journey.  Pray  convey  to  the  members  of  the 
Fellowship  gathered  at  the  dinner  my  sincere 
thanks  for  this  signal  expression  of  their  appre- 
ciation and  esteem.  I  trust  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  I  shall  be  able  to  meet  with  you 
and  thus  join  in  perpetuating  the  memory  of  him 
who  is  justly  the  '^New  birth  of  our  new  soil — 
the  first  American." 

Very  sincerely, 

Jesse  W.  Weik. 

Geneeal  Jas.  Geant  Wilson. 


Major  Lambert  ii 

Letter  from  Col.  Alexander  K.  McClure. 
Philadelphia^  Jan.  31,  1908. 
My  dear  Friends : — I  would  be  very  glad  to  say 
sometliing  about  Lincoln  at  the  anniversary  din- 
ner of  the  Lincoln  Fellowship^  but  when  you 
get  four  score  years,  you  will  avoid  all  dinners 
that  can  be  avoided  with  any  sort  of  propriety, 
and  I  sincerely  regret  that  I  cannot  be  with  you 
at  the  dinner  on  the  twelfth  of  February.  Be- 
lieve me,  Yours  truly, 

A.  K.  McClure. 
General  Jas.  Grant  Wilson. 

Col.  McClure  had  exceptional  facilities  for 
knowing  Mr.  Lincoln,  chairman  of  the  State  Com- 
mittee in  1860,  when  it  was  generally  asserted 
that  as  Pennsylvania  goes,  so  goes  the  Union,  Col. 
McClure  did  very  much  to  make  sure  that  Penn- 
sylvania should  go  right.  Because  of  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania  he  was  fre- 
quently called  to  explain  to  the  President  the 
political  situation.  Besides  his  knowledge  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  the  Colonel  has  the  ability  to  tell  what  he 
knows,  and  has  done  so  in  addresses,  books  and 
papers. 

I  have  a  message  from  our  friend  and  valued 
associate.  Judge  Daniel  Pish  of  Minnesota,  who 
has  done  much  to  establish  the  lines  of  Lincoln 
literature,  and  whose  bibliographical  work  is  of 
the  highest  importance. 

At  the  suggestion  of  General  Wilson,  I  have 
brought  with  me  one  of  my  special  treasures  to 
show  to  those  who  have  not  already  seen  it,  the 


12  Lincoln   Fellowship 

Abraham  Lincoln,  His  Book,  known  through  the 
excellent  facsimile  published  by  McClure,  Phillips 
&  Co.  This  book  was  made  by  Lincoln  for  Mr. 
Brown,  a  candidate  in  1858  for  the  legislature, 
who  desired  to  be  informed  concerning  Lincoln's 
views  on  the  subject  of  Negro  equality.  Mr. 
Brown  having  been  confronted  with  the  accusation 
that  Lincoln  favored  Negro  equality,  asked  for 
an  expression  of  his  opinion  on  the  subject.  Mr. 
Lincoln  replied  that  he  could  not  make  his  views 
any  plainer  than  he  had  done  in  the  printed 
extracts  from  his  speeches  as  inserted  in  this 
book,  to  which  he  calls  attention  in  an  appended 
letter. 

I  have  also  with  me  a  letter  to  John  E.  Eosette, 
which  I  read  to-day  to  the  National  Council  of 
Mothers  in  Philadelphia  and  which  is  as  follows : 

Pkivate. 

Springfield,  Feb.  20,  1857. 
John  E.  Eosette,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir: — Your  note  about  the  little  para- 
graph in  the  Republican,  was  received  yesterday ; 
since  when,  till  now,  I  have  been  too  unwell  to 
answer  it —  I  had  not  supposed  you  wrote,  or 
approved  it  —  The  whole  originated  in  mistake — 
You  know,  by  the  conversation  with  me,  that  I 
thought  the  establishment  of  the  paper,  unfor- 
tunate but  I  always  expected  to  throw  no  obstacle 
in  its  way,  and  to  patronize  it  to  the  extent  of 
taking  and  paying  for  one  copy —  When  the 
paper  was  first  brought  to  my  house,  my  wife  said 
to  me : ' '  Now  are  you  going  to  take  another  worth- 
less little  paper?"    I  said  to  her  evasively,  I  had 


Count  Spiridovitch  13 

not  directed  the  paper  to  be  left  —  From  this,  in 
my  absence,  she  sent  the  message  to  the  carrier  — 
This  is  the  whole  story.         Yours  truly, 

A.  Lincoln. 

It  is  interesting  to  those  of  us  who  as  collectors 
understand  the  feeling  to  know  that  even  Lincoln 
had  to  speak  evasively  when  he  took  things  into 
his  house.    (Laughter.) 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  with  us  a  gentle- 
man who  represents  the  great  Eussian  Empire. 
Russia's  manifestation  of  friendship  during  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion  did  much  to  avert  the  dan- 
gers of  foreign  intervention  which  then  threat- 
ened our  government,  and  that  practical  demon- 
stration of  friendship  will  ever  be  held  in  grate- 
ful memory.  I  have  great  pleasure  in  introduc- 
ing Major-General  Tcherep  Spiridovitch  of  the 
Russian  Army  and  President  of  the  Slavic 
Society  in  Moscow.    (Applause.) 

Speech  of  Count  Spiridovitch. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  The  story  of 
Lincoln's  career  would  not  be  complete  if  I  did 
not  mention  a  memorable  incident  of  the  Ameri- 
can Civil  War,  which  connects  your  country  and 
mine. 

Half  a  century  ago  at  a  moment,  when  absolut- 
ism in  Russia  was  at  its  height  and  the  sufferings 
of  Slavs  in  Turkey  reached  their  culmination, 
there  was  formed  in  Moscow,  in  the  heart  of  Rus- 


14         Lincoln  Fellowship 

sia,  a  powerful  political  society  with  the  object  of 
reintroducing  the  Duma,  abolished  by  Peter  the 
Great,  and  to  liberate  all  slaves,  especially  those 
Christians  under  the  terrible  Turkish  sword. 

The  world  is  indebted  to  this  Society,  that  the 
Emperor  Alexander  II,  called  the  Liberator,  by 
one  stroke  of  his  pen  abolished  the  slavery  of 
twenty-two  millions  of  peasants  in  Eussia  and 
thoroughly  reformed  all  branches  of  administra- 
tion. 

To  the  same  society  the  United  States  are  per- 
haps indebted  for  their  very  existence,  because 
when  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  Lincoln's  work  was 
menaced  by  the  attack  of  England  in  conjunction 
with  France.  These  two  strong  countries,  pre- 
suming that  the  failure  of  the  Northern  States — 
meant  to  the  United  States  ruin — seized  the  op- 
portunity to  attempt  by  force,  the  return  of  the 
Northern  States  to  their  former  status  of  a 
British  Colony  and  to  give  back  to  France  Louisi- 
ana and  possibly  some  other  of  the  Southern 
States.  Even  all  Texas  was  offered  to  France  in 
1864  for  recognition  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  danger  was  indeed  great  and  even  the 
genius  of  Lincoln  and  the  heroic  patriotism  of  the 
Union  could  not  have  withstood  such  a  combina- 
tion. 

But  Lincoln,  as  Liberator,  had  already  the 
admiration  of  the  Society  and  the  Society  had  the 
ear  of  the  generous  Emperor  Alexander  II,  who 
immediately  ordered  his  Atlantic  fleet  to  sail  into 
New  York  harbor  and  his  Pacific  squadron  to 


Count  Spiridovitch  15 

enter  San  Francisco,  informing  England  and 
France  that  their  interference  against  Lincoln 
would  mean  a  declaration  of  war  against  Russia. 

England  and  France  heeded  the  timely  warn- 
ing. None  can  doubt  that  their  attack  would 
have  given  the  final  victory  to  the  Confederates, 
who  fought,  we  must  say,  more  than  brilliantly. 

The  Society,  which  had  rendered  this  service  to 
Lincoln — and  which  worked  and  works  now  to 
liberate  all  Christian  slaves — is  the  Slavic  Society 
of  Moscow,  and  I  am  its  President.  From  the 
Civil  War  until  to-day,  the  Society  liberated 
Roumania,  Servia,  Bulgaria,  Roumelia  and 
Macedonia.  But  after  six  months  of  freedom, 
Macedonia  was  cruelly  and  inhumanely  handed 
back  to  Turkey  by  the  Berlin  Congress  and  since 
then  rivers  of  blood  have  deluged  this  richest  but 
most  unfortunate  province  in  Europe. 

Here  among  the  friends  of  freedom,  righteous- 
ness and  justice,  I  confess,  that  the  Society  plans 
to  save  Macedonia's  Christian  population  from 
extermination  and  our  prospects  are  brightening 
and  grow  more  favorable  every  day.  Let  me  hope, 
that  when  the  Society  takes  its  next  decisive  step 
to  clinch  its  iron  ring,  if  this  country  will  not  send 
her  fleet  to  Constantinople — she  will  at  least  bring 
all  her  moral  support  in  memory  of  Lincoln, 
whose  memory,  I  assure  you,  still  lives  in  our 
country  to-day.  Indeed,  if  I  accepted  the  third 
term  as  President  of  the  Slavic  Society,  it  was 
remembering  always  the  example  of  Lincoln's 
courageous  championship  of  the  cause  of  human 


16         Lincoln  Fellowship 

freedom!  Amidst  all  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
which  surround  me  in  my  work,  the  end  of  Lin- 
coln is  no  shadow  to  frighten  me.  The  service 
of  the  Society  to  Lincoln  has  been  paid;  for  the 
spirit  of  this  giant  animates  me  and  my  follow- 
ers to  pursue,  for  ever,  our  cause! 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  President,  may  I  be  per- 
mitted to  express  the  assurance,  that  the  same 
very  friendly  relations,  that  have  always  existed 
between  Eussia  and  the  United  States — may  con- 
tinue in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  and  to  ask  all 
present  to  rise  and  drink  to  the  memory  of  our 
two  Immortal  Liberators,  Alexander  the  Second 
of  the  Old  World,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  of  the 
New.  (After  great  applause,  all  rose  and  drank 
to  the  memory  of  the  two  illustrious  Emancipa- 
tors.) 

The  Peesident:  We  are  glad  to  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  from  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Eussia,  that  great  nation  which  did  so  much  for 
America  during  its  hour  of  need.  We  have  with 
us  this  evening  another  gentleman  whom  we  shall 
be  delighted  to  hear.  I  refer  to  the  Hon.  Samuel 
E.  Thayer,  late  United  States  Minister  to  the 
Netherlands,  whom  I  have  now  the  honor  to 
present. 

Speech  of  Mr.  Thayer. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen:  1  have  not 
arisen  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  speech,  be- 
cause it  is  only  since  I  took  my  seat  at  the  table 


Mr.  Thayer  17 

that  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  your  President 
and  General  Wilson,  I  have  decided  to  relate  an 
incident  in  my  own  experience,  confirmatory  of 
the  interesting  statement  of  facts  already  pre- 
sented by  onr  friend  from  Russia,  concerning  the 
relations  of  Russia  and  the  United  States  during 
the  period  of  the  Civil  War.  It  happened  in 
1891-92  that  I  visited  Russia  in  response  to  an 
invitation  of  Charles  Emory  Smith,  Minister  to 
Russia  at  that  time,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
college  and  a  graduate  of  the  same  college  as 
myself,  although  we  were  one  year  apart.  While 
on  that  visit  I  was  presented  to  several  Russian 
officials  of  high  note,  among  them  the  Russian 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  One  day,  while  at 
the  Foreign  Office,  Mr.  Smith  called  my  attention 
to  the  correspondence  which  took  place  between 
the  French  Emperor,  Napoleon  III,  and  Alexan- 
der II,  concerning  the  question  of  joint  interven- 
tion of  some  of  the  Powers  in  our  internal  affairs. 
That  correspondence  consisted  of  two  letters 
only;  one  of  them  by  Louis  Napoleon  to  Alexan- 
der II  and  the  response  was  from  that  sovereign 
to  the  Emperor  of  the  French  Empire.  The  cor- 
respondence was  in  French  and  I  made  no  copy 
of  it  at  the  time,  and  cannot  remember  anything 
but  its  substance.  The  French  Emperor  wrote 
that  the  time  had  arrived  when  in  the  judgment 
of  England  and  France,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
powers  to  put  an  end  to  the  Civil  War  then 
raging  in  the  United  States.  They  desired  the 
co-operation  of  Russia  in  the  movement,  but  if 


18  Lincoln  Fellowship 

Eussia  felt  unwilling  to  co-operate  with  them, 
then  they  desired  a  pledge  that  Russia  would 
remain  neutral  in  the  matter.  The  answer  was 
in  few  words  to  this  effect,  as  I  recall  the  sub- 
stance of  the  letter:  Eussia  had  observed  with 
very  great  interest  and  had  studied  the  condi- 
tions in  the  United  States,  and  had  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  the  war  there  prevailing  was 
instituted  by  people  in  the  United  States  who 
desired  to  secure  the  independence  of  a  portion 
of  that  country ;  that  it  was  an  unjustifiable  rebel- 
lion against  the  national  authority  and  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  had  the  full 
sympathy  of  Eussia  in  its  efforts  to  put  down  the 
rebellion.  Not  only  would  Eussia  refuse  to  join 
in  the  movement  to  establish  the  independence  of 
the  Southern  States,  but  she  would  not  remain 
neutral;  and  in  case  the  movement  was  started 
would  take  such  a  position  in  the  controversy  as 
reason  and  justice  might  seem  to  require.  You 
are  all  aware  of  the  subsequent  action  of  Eussia. 
General  Wilson  asked  me,  in  view  of  the 
absence  of  Mr.  Seward,  if  I  could  recall  a  few 
of  the  words  of  his  father  uttered  by  him  on  his 
return  to  Auburn  after  his  recovery  from  the 
assault  made  upon  him  in  Washington.  This  was 
an  address  he  delivered  to  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bors, as  near  as  I  can  recall  it.  His  words  were 
a  summing  up  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character.  Mr. 
Seward  said  we  have  lost  the  great  and  good 
Lincoln;  that  he  had  reached  that  stage  of  moral 
greatness  when  his  name  only,  was  worth  more  to 


Mr.  White  I9 

his  country  than  the  services  of  any  other  man; 
that  he  was  one  of  the  two  American  giants  who 
led  the  entire  human  race  in  its  spiritual  progress 
toward  higher  liberty  and  civilization.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

The  Peesident:  Some  of  our  members  knew 
Mr.  Lincoln  intimately,  and  I  call  upon  one  of 
them,  Mr.  Horace  White,  to  tell  us  about  him. 
Mr.  White  was  Chairman  of  the  State  Committee 
of  Illinois,  which  did  so  much  to  secure  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's election.    (Applause.) 

Speech  of  Me.  White. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen: — Abraham  Lin- 
coln has  been  in  his  grave  more  than  forty-two 
years.  When  he  was  stricken  down  by  an  assas- 
sin's hand  it  was  said  by  many  of  his  contem- 
poraries and  perhaps  believed  by  most  of  them 
that  he  had  passed  away  at  the  culminating  point 
of  his  fame. 

The  world's  history  contains  nothing  more 
dramatic  than  the  scene  in  Ford's  theatre.  The 
civil  war,  the  emancipation  of  a  race,  the  salva- 
tion of  our  beloved  Union,  combined  to  throw  the 
strongest  light  upon  ''the  deep  damnation  of  his 
taking  off. ' '  In  spite  of  these  blazing  accessories, 
we  should  have  expected,  before  the  end  of  forty- 
two  years,  that  a  considerable  amount  of  dust 
would  have  settled  upon  his  tomb.  This  is  a 
busy  world.  Each  generation  has  its  own  prob- 
lems to  grajDple  with,  its  own  joys  and  sorrows, 


20         Lincoln  Fellowship 

its  own  cares  and  griefs,  to  absorb  its  thoughts 
and  compel  its  tears.  Time  moves  on,  and  while 
the  history  of  the  past  increases  in  volume,  each 
particular  thing  in  it  dwindles  in  size,  and  so  also 
do  most  men.  But  some  men  bulk  larger  as  the 
years  recede. 

The  most  striking  fact  of  our  time,  of  a  psycho- 
logical kind,  is  the  growth  of  Lincoln's  fame  since 
the  earth  closed  over  his  remains.  The  word  Lin- 
colniana  has  been  added  to  our  dictionary.  This 
means  that  a  kind  of  literature  under  that  name, 
extensive  enough  to  be  separately  classified,  cata- 
logued, advertised,  marketed  and  collected  into 
distinct  libraries  has  grown  up.  There  is  a  Lin- 
colnian  cult  among  us  as  well  as  a  Shakesperean 
cult,  and  it  is  gaining  votaries  from  year  to  year. 
The  first  list  of  Lincoln  literature  was  published 
by  William  V.  Spencer,  in  Boston,  in  1865.  It 
included  231  titles  of  books  and  pamphlets  pub- 
lished after  Lincoln's  death,  all  of  which  were  in 
the  compiler's  possession.  This  was  followed  in 
1866  by  John  Eussell  Bartlett's  Literature  of  the 
Rebellion  including  in  a  separate  list  300  titles  of 
''Eulogies,  Sermons,  Orations,  and  Poems,"  all 
published  after  Lincoln's  death. 

In  1870  Andrew  Boyd,  a  directory  publisher  of 
Albany,  N.  Y.,  published  his  Memorial  Lincoln 
Bibliography,  an  octavo  volume  of  175  pages,  in 
which  he  gave  the  title  and  description  of  the 
books,  pamphlets,  and  relics  then  in  his  own  col- 
lection.    The   introduction   of   this   bibliography 


Mr.  White  21 

was  written  by  Charles  Henry  Hart,  still  living 
at  Philadelphia.  This  collection  was  sold  to 
Major  William  H.  Lambert  of  Philadelphia, 
whose  collection  of  Lincolniana  is  now  one  of  the 
most  important  in  the  country  and  especially  in 
autograph  letters.  Major  Lambert  was  a  soldier 
in  the  civil  war  and  is  the  author  of  a  most 
interesting  address  on  the  life  and  character  of 
Lincoln,  delivered  before  his  fellow  soldiers  of 
the  G.  A.  E.  His  collection  embraces  about  1,200 
bound  volumes,  including  separately  bound 
pamphlets,  about  100  autograph  letters  and  docu- 
ments of  Lincoln,  50  broadsides  and  many  mis- 
cellaneous pieces. 

A  Lincoln  biblography  was  compiled  by  Mr. 
Daniel  Fish  of  Minneapolis  and  published  in  the 
year  1900.  It  was  revised,  enlarged  and  repub- 
lished in  1906,  containing  1106  separate  titles. 
It  does  not  include  periodical  literature,  or  politi- 
cal writings  of  the  period  in  which  Lincoln  lived 
unless  they  owe  their  origin  to  him  as  an  indi- 
vidual. Judge  Fish  has  in  his  own  collection  of 
Lincolniana  295  bound  volumes,  559  pamphlets, 
and  100  portraits. 

Mr.  Judd  Stewart,  of  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  has  a. 
very  notable  collection  of  Lincolniana,  embracing- 
380  bound  volumes,  about  1,200  bound  pamphlets, 
several  unpublished  letters,  between  700  and  800 
engravings,  lithographs  and  paintings,  and  many 
songs  and  pieces  of  sheet  music.  All  of  these 
items  have  been  passed  upon  by  Judge  Fish  as 


22         Lincoln  Fellowship 

purely  Lincolniana.  Mr.  Stewart  has  more  than 
100  titles  which  are  not  included  in  Fish's  bibli- 
ography. 

A  very  remarkable  collection  is  that  of  John  E. 
Burton  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  consisting  of  2,360 
bound  volumes  and  pamphlets,  the  collection  of 
which,  Mr.  Burton  says,  "has  been  the  restful 
and  happy  labor  of  twenty-eight  years."  Mr. 
Burton  is  a  tireless  devotee  of  the  Lincoln  cult. 
His  enthusiasm  has  often  brought  him  into  finan- 
cial trouble  and  once  bankrupted  him  completely, 
so  that  he  was  compelled  to  see  his  beloved  library 
sent  under  the  auctioneer's  hammer.  But  he  had 
a  stout  heart  and  a  definite  object  in  life,  which 
was  to  collect  and  read  Lincolniana.  So  he  began 
anew  with  the  result  as  given  above  and  is  still 
collecting,  with  his  youthful  ardor  unabated. 
Among  other  things  he  has  the  original  Proclama- 
tion of  Emancipation  signed  by  Lincoln  and 
Seward  and  attested  by  John  G.  Nicolay  and 
John  Hay. 

Mr.  Charles  W.  McLellan  of  Champlain,  N.  Y., 
has  1,921  bound  volumes,  1,348  pamphlets,  8  man- 
uscripts, 138  autographs  of  Lincoln,  1,100  en- 
gravings and  579  songs  and  miscellaneous  pieces, 
in  all  more  than  5,000  items. 

I  have  seen  a  list  of  487  collectors  of  Lincolni- 
ana, for  the  most  part  unknown  to  each  other  who 
are  now  living,  that  is,  persons  who  have  such 
collections  and  who  are  constantly  adding  to 
them.      I   have    corresponded   with    them.      Mr. 


Mr.  White  23 

Edward  M.  Bowman  of  Alton,  111.,  has  247  titles 
of  bound  and  unbound  books  and  pamphlets; 
Mr.  John  S.  Little  of  Eushville,  111.,  has  257,  and 
so  on. 

The  existence  of  a  demand  for  Lincolniana  cre- 
ates a  supply.  There  are  dealers  in  it,  some  of 
whom  buy  and  sell  that  literature  exclusively, 
while  others  make  it  a  large  part  of  their  trade. 
In  the  former  class  is  Mr.  Daniel  H.  Newhall  of 
New  York.  I  have  a  recent  catalogue  issued  by 
the  latter  containing  496  titles,  with  the  price  of 
each  annexed.  Mr.  Newhall  informs  me  that  he 
has  2,874  titles  in  his  card  list  of  books  and 
pamphlets,  i.  e.,  that  he  knows  of  the  existence 
of  that  number,  not  counting  periodical  literature 
or  broadsides.  His  list  is  still  incomplete,  and 
he  believes  that  it  will  reach  3,000  when  finished. 
Mr.  D.  S.  Passavant  of  Xelianpole,  near  Pitts- 
burg, Pa.,  deals  in  Lincolniana  in  foreign  lan- 
guages. Lives  of  Lincoln  have  been  published  in 
the  French,  German,  Dutch,  Swedish,  Italian, 
Eussian,  Japanese,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  Greek, 
Welsh  and  Hawaiian  tongues.  There  is  a  dealer 
in  Lincolniana  relics,  at  No.  46  West  28th  street. 
New  York  City.  Mr.  Oldroyd's  great  collection 
of  such  relics,  now  placed  in  the  house  where 
Lincoln  died  in  Washington  City,  is  too  well 
known  to  need  special  description. 

So  we  see  that  Mr.  Lincoln's  death  did  not  take 
place  at  the  culmination  of  his  fame,  but  that  it 
has   been   rising   and   widening   ever    since   and 


24         Lincoln  Fellowship 

shows  no  signs  of  abatement.  Of  no  other  Amer- 
ican of  our  times  can  this  be  said.  Can  it  be 
said  of  any  other  man  of  the  same  period  in  any 
part  of  the  world?  I  cannot  find  in  any  country 
a  special  department  of  literature  collecting 
around  the  name  of  any  statesman  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  like  that  which  celebrates  the  name 
of  our  martyr  President.  This  mass  of  literature 
is  produced  and  collected  and  cherished  because 
the  hearts  of  men  and  women  go  out  to  Lincoln. 
It  is  not  mere  admiration  for  his  mental  and 
moral  qualities,  but  an  unconscious  response  to 
the  magnetic  influence  of  his  humanity,  his  un- 
selfish and  world-embracing  charity.  And  thus 
though  dead  he  yet  speaketh  to  men,  women,  and 
children  who  never  saw  him,  and  so,  I  think,  he 
will  continue  to  speak  to  generations  yet  unborn, 
''world  without  end,  amen."    (Applause.) 

The  Peesident: — Among  our  membership  is 
one  of  the  diligent  collectors  named  by  Mr.  White, 
Mr.  Chaeles  W.  McLellan,  whose  enthusiasm  is 
notable  because  he  was  not  on  Lincoln's  side,  but 
he  believes  with  us  that  Lincoln  was  the  greatest 
man  of  the  century. 

Speech  of  Me.  McLellan. 

Gentlemen: — Our  esteemed  President,  in  men- 
tioning the  many  notable  contributions  recently 
made  to  the  literature  of  Abraham  Lincoln  calls 
to  my  mind  the  excellent  study  of  Lincoln  made 
by  Judge  Isaac  N.  Phillips  of  Illinois,  in  which 


Mr.  McLellan  25 

he  expressed  the  fear  that  those  who  knew  Mr. 
Lincoln  personally  tell  their  experiences  often  in 
a  spirit  of  glorifying  themselves,  rather  than  with 
a  desire  to  add  to  the  greatness  and  singular 
sweetness  of  his  fame.  I  thus  hesitate  to  say  how 
well  I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  was  my  fortune  to 
live  in  Springfield  from  1856  to  1860;  years  in 
which  the  mind  of  the  great  President  was  being 
prepared  for  the  solemn  work  he  was  later  called 
to  accomplish,  and  for  which  he  was  chosen  and 
annointed  as  surely,  as  divinely,  as  was  David 
when  Samuel  went  down  to  Bethlehem  and  de- 
manded of  Jesse,  ''Are  here  all  thy  children?" 
Although  seeing  Mr.  Lincoln  daily  on  the  street, 
with  his  simple  manners  and  homely  dress ;  meet- 
ing him  socially  and  in  his  home,  I  failed  to  realize 
the  man;  for,  as  the  Greatest  of  Heaven  and 
Earth  has  said,  "A  prophet  is  not  without  honor 
save  in  his  own  country,"  and  for  a  time,  after 
his  greatness  was  known  and  acknowledged,  I 
wondered  whether  all  this  adoration  would  not 
be  qualified,  if  people  could  have  met  and  known 
him  in  the  familiar  manner  in  which  I  had.  But 
finally  the  grandeur  of  his  character  has  dawned 
upon  me  and  in  him  more  and  more  do  I  recog- 
nize the  truth  that  the  great  things  are  the  simple, 
the  unostentatious  ones;  that  the  divine  mani- 
festations in  nature  are  not  the  storm  and  the 
whirlwind,  but  are  rather  the  "still  small  voice," 
the  tender  expressions  of  love  and  beauty,  as 
shown  in  the  violet  and  the  quiet  growth  of  tree 


26         Lincoln  Fellowship 

and  flower;  that  greatness  in  man  is  not  arro- 
gance, much  speaking  in  lofty  tones,  and  the 
wearing  of  purple  and  ermine;  but  is  rather  in 
the  simple,  honest  purpose,  in  the  desire  to  do 
right.  And  so  do  we  now  rise  to  an  appreciation 
of  the  singular  greatness  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
^Hhe  gentlest  memory  of  our  world." 

I  remember  passing  Mr.  Lincoln  on  Sixth  street 
one  morning  in  the  Spring  of  1860,  a  few  weeks 
before  his  nomination.  I  had  ridden  out  with  a 
young  lady,  to  breakfast  at  General  Cook's  (then 
Captain  of  the  Springfield  Zouave  Grays,  of 
which  I  was  a  member)  near  the  Fair  Grounds; 
and,  on  our  return,  after  leaving  my  companion 
at  her  home  near  the  Lincoln  residence,  was, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  leading  her 
horse  back  to  the  stable  while  riding  my  own,  I 
can  see  Mr.  Lincoln  now  striding  to  his  office,  with 
one  of  the  boys  desperately  trying  to  keep  up  with 
his  father,  clinging  to  the  fringe  of  the  gray  Bay 
State  shawl  worn  at  that  time  in  place  of  an  over- 
coat. Just  as  I  got  opposite  them  the  led-horse 
threw  up  his  head,  pulled  back,  and  my  own 
saddle  turning,  otf  I  came  landing  on  my  feet 
between  the  horses,  held  up  by  the  reins  in  either 
hand.  Mr.  Lincoln  took  in  the  situation  at  once 
and  smilingly  cried  out,  "McLellan,  you  will 
always  find  it  the  most  difficult  thing  you  ever 
attempted,  to  ride  two  horses  at  once!" 

We  build  better,  or  worse,  than  we  know.  Little 
realizing  the  importance  of  the  events  preparing 


Mr.  Oakleaf  27 

around  me,  I  determined  to  accept  a  better  busi- 
ness opportunity  which  was  offered  me  at  Mobile, 
in  September  of  1860,  and  called  upon  Mr.  Lin- 
coln to  say  good-bye.  He  was  then  the  nominee 
for  the  Presidency,  and  received  his  friends  in  a 
room  of  the  State  House.  His  reply  to  my  an- 
nouncement that  I  was  going  to  Mobile  was,  ''I 
am  sorry  to  hear  it,  for  I  would  much  rather  have 
two  Southern  men  come  North,  than  have  one 
Northern  man  go  South." 

I  learned  the  significance  of  these  two  remarks 
during  the  four  succeeding  years  in  the  Army  of 
Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston. 

I  am  glad  to  have  met  you  all  to-night,  and 
sincerely  hope  that  we  may  have  many  such  occa- 
sions together.    (Applause.) 

The  President: — We  have  another  mem_ber, 
whom  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  calling  on  for  a 
speech — Mr.  J.  B.  Oakleaf  of  Moline,  111. 

Speech  of  Mr.  Oakleaf. 

Mr.  Toastmaster  and  Friends: — I  have  the 
honor  to  be  a  resident  of  the  State  of  Illinois, 
which  gave  to  the  Union  the  best  President  it 
has  ever  seen,  or  ever  will  see.  I  live  in  that 
part  of  Illinois  that  never  had  Lincoln  within  its 
bounds  but  once.  He  came  there  with  a  military 
company  during  the  Black  Hawk  War.  I  live  in 
Rock  Island  County,  which  has  seventy  miles  of 
Mississippi  Eiver  front.  Lincoln  became  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  Black  Hawk  War  on  the  strength 


28         Lincoln  Fellowship 

of  petitions  from  Eock  Island  County,  which 
caused  the  Governor  to  call  out  volunteers  to 
subdue  Black  Hawk.  And  to  Rock  Island  County 
falls  the  honor  of  Lincoln's  military  career. 
Lincoln  came  to  the  mouth  of  Rock  River,  after 
marching  from  Yellowbanks,  a  distance  of  52 
miles  in  one  day.  He  arrived  at  the  camp  of  Gen. 
Atkinson  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  River  on  the  7th 
of  May.  He  remained  until  the  10th.  He  did  not 
see  or  meet  Black  Hawk  during  the  war.  When 
Lincoln  crossed  from  Rock  Island  County  to 
Henry  County,  it  was  the  last  time  that  Rock  Isl- 
and County  was  ever  honored  with  his  presence. 
Thus  Rock  Island  County  is  connected  with  the 
life  of  Lincoln.  Later  I  shall  give  to  the  press  a 
little  volume  which  I  have  long  had  in  my  mind 
which  will  bring  out  the  connection  of  Lincoln 
with  Rock  Island  County.  At  Rock  Island  is 
located  the  bridge  which  was  the  subject  of  a 
dispute  which  Lincoln  tried  at  Chicago  before 
Justice  McLean  and  won  the  day.  At  Rock 
Island  is  Fort  Armstrong,  where  Dred  Scott 
lived  who  was  the  subject  of  the  celebrated 
decision.  So  Rock  Island  claims  some  of  the 
glory  of  Lincoln's  career.  We  had  in  Rock  Island 
County  a  large  number  of  abolitionists.  The  main 
settlers  of  Rock  Island  County  were  from  Ver- 
mont and  New  York,  who  came  there  by  way  of 
the  Lakes.  It  always  stood  by  the  principles  of 
Lincoln.  Even  in  the  great  landslide  of  1892  that 
made  Grover  Cleveland  President,  it  gave  a  much 


General  Wilson  29 

larger  majority  than  ever  before  for  the  party 
of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Moline  was  a  station  on 
the  underground  railroad,  and  as  a  boy  of  four, 
I  have  sat  at  breakfast  with  slaves  who  had  been 
run  through  and  fed  at  my  father's  table.  I 
was  born  in  Rock  Island  County  and  lived  there 
all  my  life.  I  remember  when  word  was  flashed 
over  the  wires  that  Lincoln  was  dead.  My  father 
laid  down  on  his  bed,  and  wept.  He  could  not 
be  comforted  for  the  best  friend  of  the  Union  had 
been  removed,  and  could  not  be  .replaced.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

The  President: — We  have  still  another  mem- 
ber who  met  Mr.  Lincoln  frequently.  I  refer  to 
our  friend  who  has  done  so  much  to  make  this 
meeting  a  success,  and  take  great  pleasure  in  pre- 
senting Geneeal  James  Grant  Wilson.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

Speech  of  General  Wilson. 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen: — General  Wood- 
ford kindly  consented  to  accept  my  urgent  invita- 
tion to  take  the  place  of  Mr.  Seward,  who  has 
been  prevented  from  coming  here  to-night  on 
account  of  the  severe  illness  of  Mrs.  Seward. 
He  is  presiding  at  a  Lincoln  dinner,  but  he  said 
he  would  leave  the  chair  at  ten  o'clock,  and  you 
can  count  on  his  being  here  within  five  minutes 
of  that  time.  If  you  will  bear  with  me,  I  will 
endeavor  to  entertain  you  until  the  General's 
arrival. 


30         Lincoln  Fellowship 

Many  present  at  tliis  dinner-table  may  remem- 
ber that  in  June,  1865,  James  Eussell  Lowell 
delivered  liis  immortal  Commemoration  Ode,  cel- 
ebrating the  young  hero  graduates  of  Harvard, 
who  gave  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  Kepublic 
during  the  Civil  War.  In  that  Ode,  some  three 
score  lines  was  devoted  to  Lincoln.  The  gifted 
poet  described  him  as 

''New  birth  of  our  New  Soil — the  first  Ameri- 
can." 

Again  Lowell  says: 

"Here  was  a  type  of  the  true  older  race, 
''And  one  of  Plutarch's  men  talked  with  us  face 
to  face." 

In  1858,  I  first  talked  face  to  face  with  that 
extraordinary  man,  the  most  remarkable  in  many 
respects  that  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Many  men 
can  be  compared  with  Washington  and  with 
Grant ;  but  no  other  illustrious  man  in  the  pages 
of  history  can  be  compared  with  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. I  saw  him  in  Springfield,  111.,  when  on  a 
visit  to  one  of  my  father's  friends,  a  judge  of 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  who  asked  me 
if  I  would  like  to  call  on  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  I  said 
I  would  be  delighted.  It  was  during  the  time  of 
the  famous  Douglas-Lincoln  debates.  We  found 
him  in  a  shabby  little  uncarpeted  office  over  a 
grocer's  shop,  and  I  do  not  know  that  I  was  ever 
more  surprised  in  my  life  than  when  I  saw  the 
giant  of  six  feet  four  inches.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  he  had  the  longest  arms  and  limbs  of  any 


General   Wilson  31 

man  I  had  ever  looked  upon.  His  face  was  rugged 
and  swarthy,  with  dark  rebellious  hair,  and  sad 
greyish  brown  eyes,  which,  however,  gleamed 
with  fun  at  the  relation  of  a  good  story  told  by 
himself  or  others.  His  clothes  were  obviously  not 
the  subject  of  much  thought;  being  ill  fitting  and 
illy  made.  Much  of  the  conversation  that  took 
place  during  that  hour's  interview  still  lingers  in 
my  memory.  In  response  to  a  question  about  his 
ancestors,  he  mentioned  one,  Tom  Lincoln,  who 
had  come  to  this  country  in  1638  and  settled  not 
far  from  Boston,  near  Hingham,  or  he  said,  it 
might  have  been  Hang-him,  which  was  it.  Judge? 
Lincoln  was  going  down  the  Mississippi  on  a 
steamer  during  the  days  of  the  almost  worthless 
wild-cat  currency.  The  pilot  told  the  captain  that 
the  wood  was  running  low.  When  the  boat  was 
run  on  shore,  the  captain  said  to  the  owner  of  a 
wood  pile,  *'Is  that  your  wood?"  Upon  being 
assured  that  it  was,  and  that  it  was  for  sale,  he 
asked  the  owner  if  he  would  take  wild-cat  cur- 
rency? ''Certainly."  ''How  will  you  take  it?" 
The  answer  came  promptly,  "Cord  for  cord." 
The  Judge  mentioned  that  I  had  told  him  some 
remarkable  stories  which  I  had  recently  heard 
related  at  Arlington,  Va.,  by  Mr.  Curtis,  the 
adopted  son  of  Washington  who  was  perhaps  in 
his  prime  the  strongest  man  living  and  in  early 
life  he  was  a  famous  wrestler.  It  seems  that 
Washington  had  never  been  thrown,  although  he 
had  tried  conclusions  with  several  professional 


32         Lincoln  Fellowship 

wrestlers.  Lincoln  said,  ''My  young  friend,  that 
is  just  about  my  record.  I  could  outlift  any  man 
in  Southern  Illinois,  but  there  was  one  man, 
strong  as  a  Eussian  bear,  who  was  rather  too 
much  for  me  in  wrestling,  I  could  not  put  this 
big  fellow  on  his  back,  but  I  took  good  care  tliat 
he  did  not  get  me  on  the  ground.  Do  you  know 
that  if  George  was  loafing  around  here  now,  I 
should  not  mind  having  a  tussle  with  him.  I 
think  one  of  the  plain  men  of  Illinois  would  hold 
his  end  against  the  aristocrat  of  old  Virginia." 

Lincoln  was  fond  of  being  known  as  one  of  the 
plain  people.  I  frequently  heard  him  use  the 
expression.  On  one  occasion  you  may  remember 
He  said  that  "The  Lord  must  love  the  plain  peo- 
ple, as  he  has  made  so  many  of  them." 

Another  story  that  lingers  in  my  memory  is  as 
follows:  Lincoln  said  he  had,  during  the  pre- 
vious week,  attended  a  meeting  at  the  lunatic 
asylum  near  Springfield,  of  which  he  was  a  trus- 
tee. As  he  walked  through  the  long  hall,  it  was 
so  chilly  that  he  wore  his  hat.  A  little  lunatic 
sprang  out  of  a  side  passage  and  confronting  him 
said:  ''I  am  amazed,  sir,  at  your  presuming  to 
wear  your  hat  in  the  presence  of  Christopher 
Columbus."  Lincoln  removed  his  hat,  and  said: 
'*I  beg  pardon,  Christopher  Columbus,"  passing 
on  to  the  meeting.  Returning  through  the  hall  an 
hour  later,  he  was  rather  startled  by  the  same 
little  lunatic  again  darting  out  of  the  passage  and 
saying,  "How  dare  you,   sir,   presume  to  wear 


General   Wilson  33 

your  hat  in  the  presence  of  General  Washing- 
ton?" "I  beg  your  pardon,  General,"  Lincoln 
said,  ''but  not  long  ago,  you  told  me  you  were 
Cliristopher  Columbus."  "That  is  quite  correct, 
sir,"  replied  the  little  lunatic,  '^but  that  ivas  by 
another  mother." 

Three  days  later,  I  was  invited  to  dine  with 
Stephen  A.  Douglas  in  Chicago,  another  guest 
being  Governor  Aiken  of  South  Carolina.  There 
was  much  conversation  about  Mr.  Lincoln.  Judge 
Douglas  told  the  story  of  Lincoln-Shields  duel.  It 
differed  from  the  accepted  account,  with  which 
Many  of  you  are  familiar.  I  will  give  you  the 
story  as  the  Judge  related  it.  Certain  articles 
had  appeared  in  the  Springfield  paper,  reflecting 
on  Mr.  Shields,  at  that  time  a  schoolmaster  in 
Springfield.  According  to  Douglas,  Lincoln, 
Shields  and  himself  were  rivals  for  the  hand  of 
the  lovely  Mary  Todd.  After  the  campaign  had 
been  continued  for  several  months,  it  was  an- 
nounced that  Abe  Lincoln  was  the  accepted  suitor, 
but  Shields  persisted  in  paying  attentions  to  the 
young  lady,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. Finally  a  paragraph  appeared  in  the 
Springfield  paper  stating  that  among  the  things 
a  certain  old  lady  advised  her  grand-daughter  to 
avoid  was  allowing  her  hand  being  held  by  Irish 
schoolmasters  for  an  unnecessary  length  of  time. 
The  allusion  was  instantly  recognized.  Shields 
threatened  the  editor  of  the  paper  with  dire  pen- 
alties, unless  he  told  him  the  name  of  the  writer 


34         Lincoln  Fellowship 

of  the  article.  The  editor  said  he  did  not  write 
it,  but  he  believed  the  author  of  the  article  would 
have  no  objection  to  his  name  being  given, 
although  he  would  not  divulge  it  without  his  con- 
sent. ''If  you  will  come  back  in  fifteen  minutes, 
I  will  give  you  your  answer."  The  editor  dashed 
over  to  Lincoln's  office  and  told  him  what  had 
occurred,  saying,  ''Abe,  what  shall  I  do?"  Lin- 
coln said,  ' '  Tell  him  I  wrote  it. ' '  Promptly  came 
the  challenge  to  a  duel,  which  was  accepted.  Lin- 
coln chose  cavalry  swords  for  weapons,  and  they 
went  to  Bloody  Island  to  fight  the  duel.  The  day 
was  rather  chilly,  and  Lincoln  thought  he  would 
warm  up  a  little,  and  so  while  the  seconds  were 
arranging  the  preliminaries,  Lincoln  began  mow- 
ing down  the  huckleberry  bushes.  When  Shields 
saw  the  giant  figure  of  Lincoln  swinging  his  long 
sword  like  a  scythe,  he  leaned  against  a  huge  elm, 
and  fainted. 

In  St.  Louis,  I  was  entertained  at  dinner  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War.  Our  host  told  us  that  he  had 
been  sent  up  by  the  law  firm,  of  which  he  was  the 
junior  partner,  to  transact  some  business  in 
Springfield,  but  so  great  was  the  excitement  on 
the  day  of  the  Lincoln-Shields  duel,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  remain  over  another  day. 

Several  years  passed.  I  received  tidings  that 
my  brother  had  been  mortally  wounded  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, and  I  obtained  leave  of  absence  from 
General  Grant  to  go  to  Washington  to  see  him. 
Later  I  called  at  the  White  House.    Mr.  Lincoln 


General   Wilson  35 

inquired  what  had  brought  me  to  Washington. 
When  I  told  him,  he  said,  "Come  back  at  four 
o'clock,  and  we  will  walk  out  and  see  the  young 
Captain."  When  I  called,  I  found  a  Congress- 
man there  from  Buffalo.  He  was  talking  with 
great  earnestness  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  he  looked 
in  my  direction  as  though  he  desired  me  to  leave 
the  room,  but  Lincoln  caught  his  eye  and  said  my 
presence  there  was  all  right  as  I  had  an  appoint- 
ment. The  Congressman  at  length  completed  his 
energetic  appeal  for  some  office  for  a  constituent, 
when  the  President  looking  at  him  critically  said, 
"John,  how  close  do  you  shave."  We  all  burst 
out  with  laughter.  When  the  member  of  Con- 
gress departed,  I  said,  "Mr.  President,  is  that 
the  way  you  manage  politicians?"  Mr.  Lincoln 
replied:  "Well,  Colonel,  you  must  not  think  that 
you  have  all  the  strategy  in  the  Army."  When 
he  met  my  brother  at  the  Georgetown  hospital  for 
officers,  he  saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  a  strong  like- 
ness to  his  son  Willie,  who  died  a  few  months 
before.  The  President  went  to  the  hospital  al- 
most daily  during  the  twelve  days  that  my 
brother  survived.  I  mention  this  personal  inter- 
est to  illustrate  the  President's  kindness  of  heart 
and  I  may  say  of  him,  as  Bassanio  said  of  his 
friend  Antonio  the  Merchant  of  Venice,  that  he 
was 

"The  kindest  man,  the  best-conditioned, 
"And  unwearied  spirit,  in  doing  courtesies." 

A  few  days  later,  the  President  and  his  great 


36         Lincoln   Fellowship 

Secretary  of  State,  accompanied  by  a  young 
officer  attended  a  review  on  the  Virginia  side  of 
the  Potomac.  An  ambulance  was  provided  drawn 
by  four  mules.  When  the  ambulance  reached  the 
Virginia  side  of  the  river,  the  ruts  were  so  deep, 
the  driver  had  great  difficulty  in  keeping  the 
wheels  out  of  them.  Finally  the  driver,  losing 
his  temper,  began  to  swear,  and  the  worse  the 
road  became,  the  stronger  his  profanity.  At 
length  the  President  said  to  the  driver,  ''Are  you 
an  Episcopalian?"  but  the  driver  was  not,  saying 
he  generally  went  to  the  Methodist  church.  The 
President  replied,  "Oh,  excuse  me.  I  thought 
you  must  be  an  Episcopalian  for  you  swear  just 
like  Seward,  and  he  is  a  church  warden."  (Great 
Laughter.) 

I  was  in  Washington  again  a  year  later  and  had 
the  good  fortune  to  hear  that  marvelous  Second 
Inaugural  Address,  which  Emerson  said  would 
outlive  anything  that  had  been  printed  in  the 
English  language.  I  sat  directly  in  front  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  heard  every  word  distinctly.  Pos- 
sibly it  may  interest  you  if  I  endeavor  to  give 
you  some  paragraphs  of  the  address  as  nearly  as 
I  can  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  manner. 

''Fondly  do  we  hope — fervently  do  we  pray 
— that  this  mighty  scourge  of  War  may  speedily 
pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue 
until  all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondsman's  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall 
be  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by 
the  lash  shall  be  paid  with  another  drawn  by  the 


General   Wilson  37 

sword  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so 
still  must  it  be  said,  'The  ways  of  the  Lord  are 
true  and  righteous  altogether.' 

''With  malice  toward  none;  with  charity  for 
all;  with  firmness  in  the  fight,  as  God  gives  us 
to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the 
work  that  we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the  nation's 
wounds;  to  care  for  him  who  hath  borne  the 
battle,  and  for  his  widow,  and  his  orphan — to  do 
all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and 
lasting  peace,  among  ourselves,  and  with  all 
nations."   (Applause.) 

A  few  weeks  later,  I  was  at  Ford's  Theatre 
with  the  President,  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  the  same 
young  lady  who  was  with  them  when  the  assas- 
sin's bullet  ended  Mr.  Lincoln's  career.  The 
President  sat  in  the  rear  of  the  box  leaning 
against  the  partition,  taking  little  interest  in  the 
proceedings.  When  the  curtain  fell,  turning  to 
him  I  said,  "You  are  not  taking  any  interest  in 
the  play."  "Oh,  no,"  he  replied,  "I  come  here 
to  rest.  I  am  hounded  to  death  by  office  seekers. 
Here  I  can  get  a  few  hours'  relief  from  them." 
He  closed  his  eyes  and  I  turned  to  the  ladies. 
Suddenly  I  felt  his  heavy  hand  on  my  shoulder, 
and  in  place  of  the  worn  and  wearied  man  who 
looked  so  haggard  as  if  soul  and  body  might  part 
then  and  there,  I  saw  the  President  sitting  up- 
right, his  eyes  full  of  fun,  and  with  the  well- 
remembered  sweet  smile  he  said,  "Colonel,  did  I 
ever  tell  you  the  story  of  Grant  at  the  circus?'^ 
"No,  Mr.  President,  I  am  sorry  to  say  you  never 
did."     "Well,  when  Grant  was  about  ten  years 


38         Lincoln  Fellowship 

old,  a  circus  came  to  Point  Pleasant,  Ohio,  where 
the  family  resided,  and  the  small  boy  asked  his 
father  for  a  quarter  to  see  the  circus.  The  old 
screw  would  not  give  it  to  him,  so  Ulysses  crawled 
in  under  the  canvas,  as  I  used  to  do,  for  I  never 
saw  a  quarter  when  I  was  a  little  chap.  The  ring- 
master announced  that  any  one  who  would  ride  a 
mule  that  was  brought  in,  once  around  the  ring 
without  being  thrown  would  be  presented  with  a 
silver  dollar.  A  number  tried  for  the  dollar,  but 
all  were  thrown  over  the  mule's  head.  Finally 
the  ring-master  ordered  the  mule  taken  out  of  the 
ring,  when  in  walked  Master  Grant,  saying,  'I 
will  try  that  mule. '  The  boy  mounted,  holding  on 
longer  than  any  of  the  others  till  at  length  the 
mule  succeeded  in  throwing  the  boy  into  his 
father's  tan  bark,  for,"  said  Lincoln,  "the  old 
man  was  a  tanner.  Springing  to  his  feet  and 
throwing  off  his  cap  and  coat,  Ulysses  shouted 
with  a  determined  air,  'I  would  like  to  try  that 
mule  again.'  This  time  he  resorted  to  strategy. 
He  faced  the  rear,  took  hold  of  the  beast's  tail 
instead  of  his  head,  which  rather  demoralized  the 
mule,  the  boy  went  around  the  ring  and  won  the 
dollar.  Just  so,"  added  the  President,  ''Grant 
will  hold  on  to  Bob  Lee."  Fourteen  days  later 
General  Lee  surrendered  at  Appomattox. 

Before  we  parted  that  night  the  President  said 
he  had  had  a  photograph  taken  by  Brady  of  New 
York,  of  which  he  would  give  me  a  copy.  "When 
I  presented  myself  the  next  day  at  the  White 


General   Wilson  39 

House  lie  handed  me  the  cabinet  photograph. 
Saying  I  would  like  to  have  it  signed,  he  wrote 
his  name  in  full  on  a  slip  of  paper,  remarking  as 
he  handed  it  to  me,  **I  cannot  write  very  well  on 
the  photograph,  so  you  can  paste  this  signature 
on  it."  It  is  among  the  latest  and  best  pictures 
taken  of  Lincoln.  {Here  the  General,  amid  great 
applause,  held  up  the  framed  photograph.) 

A  fortnight  later  at  the  family  home  on  the 
Hudson,  I  was  wakened  by  the  ringing  of  all  the 
church  bells,  and  when  I  inquired  why  the  bells 
were  tolling,  my  servant  said,  ^'Your  friend,  the 
President,  is  dead." 

General  Grant  told  me  that  the  15th  of  April, 
1865,  was  the  saddest  day  of  his  life,  and  I  think 
I  may  repeat  the  same  words.  I  was  overcome 
with  the  thought  that  Lincoln  had  been  assas- 
sinated just  as  his  work  was  completed,  and  when 
he  was  looking  forward  to  peaceful  days.  He  had 
promised  himself  after  the  Presidency,  a  visit  to 
the  Old  World.  England  particularly  he  longed 
to  see.  His  funeral,  as  you  all  remember,  was 
celebrated  in  this,  and  many  other  cities,  and  the 
committee  having  in  charge  the  arrangements  for 
his  interment  at  Springfield  wisely  ordained  that 
the  chief  feature  of  the  funeral  program  should 
be  the  reading  of  the  Second  Inaugural  Address, 
as  the  friends  of  Raphael  chose  the  matchless  pic- 
ture of  The  Transfiguration  to  be  the  chief  fea- 
ture at  his  funeral.  The  friends  of  Liberty  and 
Justice,  for  which  Lincoln  lived  and  died,  from 


40         Lincoln  Fellowship 

the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  joined  hands  over 
his  open  grave,  and  the  good  angel  of  Leigh 
Hunt's  beautiful  allegory  might  have  written  in 
the  Golden  Booh  of  Remembrance  of  the  Maytyr 
President,  as  he  did  of  Abou  Ben  Adam,  "He 
loved  his  fellow-men." 

What  would  have  been  the  fate  of  our  country 
without  Washington  and  Lincoln?  It  may  well 
be  doubted  if  our  Independence  could  have  been 
obtained  without  Washington;  and  it  is  equally 
doubtful  whether  the  integrity  of  the  Eepublic 
could  have  been  maintained  without  Lincoln  and 
Grant.  Their  countrymen  will  continue  to  cherish 
their  memory  far  on  in  summers  that  we  shall  not 
see,  and  upon  the  adamant  of  their  fame,  the 
stream  of  Time  will  beat  without  injury.  Their 
names  are  enrolled  in  the  Capitol,  and  will  endure 
during  the  endless  and  everlasting  ages.  (Ap- 
plause.) 

The  President: — Gen.  Stewart  L.  Woodford 
has  arrived,  and  I  am  sure  that  such  a  dis- 
tinguished citizen  of  New  York  needs  no  intro- 
duction by  a  citizen  of  Philadelphia. 

Speech  of  General  Woodford. 

Gentlemen: — I  want  to  make  an  explanation  of 
the  situation  in  which  I  find  myself.  General  Wil- 
son invited  me  to  dine  with  you,  but  at  that  time 
I  was  deeply  engaged  with  my  professional  work 
as  a  lawyer,  and  I  had  to  decline.  Afterwards  to 
fill  a  gap,  I  was  sent  for  to  take  the  place  of  the 


General   Woodford         41 

President  at  a  dinner  given  to-night  by  the  Grad- 
uates Club.  Then  came  a  kind  and  thoughtful 
invitation  from  my  dear  friend,  General  Wilson. 
I  told  him  how  I  was  fixed.  I  appreciate  your 
remaining  so  long,  and  I  am  going  to  reward  your 
patience  by  a  very  brief  speech. 

Orations  have  been  pronounced  upon  Lincoln 
ever  since  the  sad  closing  of  his  life.  I  cannot 
deliver  an  oration.  Possibly  one  or  two  reminis- 
cences of  the  few  spots  or  places  in  which  I  was 
permitted  to  touch  his  life  and  services  may  be 
of  interest  to  you,  so  without  further  preface,  and 
without  any  attempt  at  a  speech  in  its  formal  use, 
let  me  begin. 

There  cannot  be  many  at  this  table  who  saw 
Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  flesh.  General  Wilson  did. 
My  client,  Mr.  McLellan,  did.  I  have  been  Mr. 
McLellan's  counsel  for  a  great  many  years,  and 
he  has  still  money  enough  to  attend  a  Lincoln 
Fellowship  dinner.    (Laughter.) 

I  was  first  permitted  to  see  Mr.  Lincoln  in 
1860,  when  he  made  his  great  speech  which  pub- 
licly endorsed  his  claim  to  the  Presidential  office, 
on  the  topic,  ''Freedom  National;  Slavery  Sec- 
tional." The  great  hall,  still  standing  in  this 
city — Cooper  Union — was  crowded  to  over-flow- 
ing. William  CuUen  Bryant  was  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  evening.  Lincoln  began  that  mar- 
velous speech  in  a  voice  that  was  a  high  tenor, 
that  was  somewhat  strident  in  its  tone.  He  was 
awkward  in  manner,  very  terse  in  statement,  and 


42         Lincoln  Fellowship 

somewhat  thick  in  delivery.  The  thing  which  im- 
pressed itself  upon  my  boyish  mind  at  the  time 
was  that  in  his  first  paragraph  he  got  hold  of  his 
suspenders  and  brought  them  out  between  his 
vest  and  his  coat  with  his  thumb,  and  held  them 
in  this  fashion  (illustrating).  He  proceeded  with 
his  speech,  tightening  his  grip  on  the  suspenders ; 
all  unconscious  of  the  act,  until  he  had  reached 
the  end  of  that  section  of  his  speech,  when  the 
''gallus"  were  stretched  to  the  utmost  limit,  and 
the  house  broke  forth  in  uproarious  applause. 
He  continued  his  speech  in  the  same  fashion ;  but 
when  he  had  concluded,  there  was  not  a  man  or 
woman  in  that  great  audience  whom  he  had  not 
absolutely  convinced  by  the  clear  logic  of  his 
statements.  When  we  left  the  hall  that  night,  we 
all  wondered  at  this  strong  and  remarkable  pro- 
duct of  the  West. 

Pardon  what  may  seem  somewhat  egotistical. 
I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  few  personal  incidents 
touching  upon  Lincoln.  We  selected  delegates  to 
the  convention  which  was  to  nominate  the  candi- 
date of  the  Eepublican  Party  to  the  Presidency. 
Of  course  I  was  for  Mr.  Seward.  Every  one  in 
New  York  had  been  taught  to  regard  Seward  as 
an  idol,  the  appointed  leader  of  free  thought  in 
the  country. 

It  fell  to  my  lot  to  be  elected  delegate-alternate 
from  Connecticut.  In  those  days,  delegates  did 
not  have  to  live  in  the  districts  they  represented ; 
now  they  do.    You  may  possibly  remember  that 


General   Woodford         43 

Horace  Greeley  was  a  delegate  from  Oregon  to 
that  convention,  and  so  in  a  number  of  instances 
throughout  the  country;  my  experience  was  only 
that  of  a  great  many.  A  caucus  was  held  and  it 
was  decided  to  cast  the  vote  of  Connecticut,  in  so 
far  as  possible,  to  prevent  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Seward,  because  they  did  not  believe  he  could 
carry  Connecticut ;  but  I  was  confronted  with  the 
duty  of  acting  in  that  convention  and  voting 
against  Mr.  Seward.  I  could  not  do  it.  That  was 
a  good  many  years  ago.  I  could  not  do  anything 
against  my  conscience,  and  for  fifty  years  I  have 
stuck  to  my  principles.  I  have  voted  for  a  great 
many  defeated  candidates,  but  I  have  never  cast 
a  vote  against  my  conscience  or  my  judgment. 
Finally,  Lincoln  was  the  choice  of  the  convention. 
I  had  the  enthusiasm  of  a  youngster — I  prayed; 
my  heart  got  the  better  of  my  head  and  my  will. 
But  the  man  from  Illinois  was  nominated  and 
elected;  and  it  was  the  service  of  Mr.  Seward  to 
assist  him.  Gentlemen,  I  have  lived  long  enough 
to  know  that  the  judgment  of  the  many  is  often 
safer  than  the  judgment  of  the  few;  to  know  that 
a  definite  purpose  guided  that  convention,  and  I 
have  lived  long  enough  to  be  reverently  grateful 
that  Lincoln  and  not  Seward  was  President  of  the 
Eepublic  during  the  sad  years  of  the  Civil  War. 
(Applause.) 

I  was  gratified  beyond  expression  as  a  boy 
when,  picking  up  a  newspaper  one  morning  in  the 
autumn   of   1860,   I   found   that   the   unexpected 


44         Lincoln  Fellowship 

honor  had  been  done  me  to  take  the  vote  to  Wash- 
ington and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent. I  gave  it  to  Mr.  John  C.  Breckinridge,  and 
I  want  to  pay  this  tribute  to  his  conscience  as  he 
saw  it.  Mr.  Breckinridge  was  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States.  He  received  the  ballots  that 
came  from  the  different  States.  He  presided 
over  the  joint  convention  and  declared  the  result 
that  made  Lincoln  President.  He  remained  in 
office  until  his  term  as  Vice-President  had  closed ; 
then  left  Washington  and  cast  his  influence  and 
fortune  with  the  Southern  Confederacy,  becoming 
a  general  in  their  service;  but  he  had  kept  his 
personal  honor;  he  had  discharged  the  duties  of 
his  office  as  Vice-President  of  the  United  States; 
he  had  declared  his  great  antagonist  elected  to  the 
Presidency.  I  want  to  pay  this  tribute  to  the 
fidelity  and  true  citizenship  of  John  C.  Breckin- 
ridge, as  he  understood  the  situation. 

I  stood  in  front  of  the  steps  of  the  Capitol  at 
Washington  and  heard  Mr.  Lincoln  deliver  his 
first  inaugural  address.  You  are  probably  all 
familiar  with  the  old  story  that  Senator  Douglas 
of  Illinois,  who  had  been  Mr.  Lincoln's  competi- 
tor, held  Mr.  Lincoln's  hat  during  his  address, 
Mr.  Lincoln  hardly  knowing  what  to  do  with  it. 

During  that  first  year,  it  was  my  good  fortune 
to  be  Assistant  United  States  Attorney  at  New 
York  City,  and  I  had  charge  of  cases  connected 
with  the  Civil  War.     I  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  often 


General   Woodford         45 

during  the  encumbency  of  that  office;  but  after 
that  period,  I  never  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  again. 

I  happened  to  be  in  Savannah  when  it  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Union  Army  and  it 
was  there  that  I  heard  the  news  of  his  death.  The 
whole  country  was  plunged  in  deep  sorrow  and 
everyone  felt  that  a  personal  blow  had  fallen 
upon  him  when  Lincoln  passed  away. 

And  looking  back  over  all  the  intervening 
years,  I  reverently  believe  that  some  Almighty 
power  guided  us  more  wisely  than  we  knew,  and 
it  is  to  the  Father  Above  that  we  owe  Lincoln's 
nomination  and  election  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
Eepublic.  No  name  will  live  longer  in  the 
thoughts  of  loyal  Americans  than  that  of  Lin- 
coln. They  will  entwine  it  with  that  of  Washing- 
ton as  the  saviours  of  the  country. 

His  education  was  of  the  simplest  and  most 
rudimentary  character,  and  obtained  under  the 
most  difficult  circumstances.  His  only  books  were 
a  copy  of  the  first  half  of  Euclid's  problems,  a 
dog-eared  copy  of  Aesop's  Fables  and  a  copy  of 
the  common  or  King  James  version  of  the  Bible, 
a  partial  copy  of  four  of  Shakespeare's  plays, 
and  an  old  volume  of  the  Statute  Laws  of  some 
forgotten  year  in  Indiana.  That  was  the  sum  and 
substance  of  his  schooling.  It  was  all  he  ever 
had,  until  he  began  to  read  law.  From  a  con- 
dition of  the  most  abject  and  terrible  poverty  he 
struggled  onward  and  upward  until  through  the 
Providence  of  God,  he  became  President  of  the 


46         Lincoln  Fellowship 

United  States  and  stands  forever  as  one  of  the 
greatest  orators,  as  one  of  the  wisest  statesmen^ 
and  as  one  of  the  best  men  in  any  nation,  and  in 
any  time. 

When  he  died,  the  nation  wept  beside  his  tomb. 
So  long  as  the  RepnbHc  shall  live,  his  name  with 
that  of  the  great  Washington  will  be  a  heritage  to 
all  the  people. 

Next  year  you  will  celebrate  the  centenary  of 
his  birth.  Contrast  the  conditions.  The  country 
when  he  was  President  was  in  the  midst  of  Civil 
War;  on  every  hand  there  was  misery  and 
wretchedness.  In  the  midst  of  it  all,  when  he  had 
completed  his  life  work  and  looked  forward  to 
spending  the  balance  of  his  earthly  career  in  re- 
tirement and  comparative  ease,  he  was  stricken 
down  by  the  bullet  of  the  assassin.  He  has  gone 
up  to  be  with  Washington — a  Saint  of  the  Ameri- 
can Republic.  To-day  the  country  has  recovered 
from  the  losses  of  the  War  and  the  evil  of  Eecon- 
struction,  until  it  is  at  the  very  summit  of  influ- 
ence, power  and  wealth.  May  God  give  us  the 
strength  and  desire  to  use  our  position  in  the 
world  as  Washington  and  Lincoln  would  have  had 
us  use  it!  Let  us  have  a  broadmindedness,  the 
humanity  and  self-control,  and  the  love  for  all 
men  which  distinguished  Washington  and  Lin- 
coln. If  poverty  be  your  portion  in  life,  use  what 
talent  you  have  to  the  best  interest  of  your 
country.  Whether  rich  or  poor,  let  us  do  our  best 
to  obliterate  the  struggle  between  the  classes,  and 


Mr.    Meserve  47 

let  us  stand  to-day  and  always  for  the  just  and 
for  the  right.  Let  us  stand  for  the  Republic  of 
V/ashington  and  Lincoln — the  last  hope  of  the 
world.  Let  us  insist  on  equal  rights  and  equal 
chances  for  all  men.    Let  this  be  our  motto. 

I  thank  you  for  your  kind  attention  and  bid  you 
all  Grood  Night.   (Applause.) 

The  following  original  poem  was  then  read  by 
the  author,  Mr.  Feederick  Hill  Meserve. 

LINCOLN. 

When  War  and  Discord  wed,  and  doubts  arise 
In  Union  breasts,  and  Riot,  grim,  elate, 
Exults  to  see  the  havoc  of  the  State, 

Then  he  surveys  the  field  with  steady  eyes. 

When  victory  is  won,  elusive  dream 
With  blood  of  heroes  bought,  and  slips  away, 
The  hope  of  baffled  armies  brought  to  bay, 

His  simple  faith  in  Right  is  still  supreme. 

Another  Father,  bearing  in  his  heart 
The  burdens  of  a  people,  and  its  foes 
Forgiving  freely,  ready  to  forget 

The  lurid  drama  in  the  better  part 

Of  peace  with  honor.    Then,  alas,  he  goes. 
And  friends  and  foes  alike  are  weeping  yet. 

The  following  letters  from  absent  members 
were  then  read. 

Letter  from  Judge  Phillips. 

Bloomington,  III.,  Feb.  8,  1908. 
My  dear  Sir: — I  have  delayed  my  answer  to 
your  invitation  to  the  Lincoln  Fellowship  ban- 


48         Lincoln  Fellowship 

quet  at  Delmonico's  on  the  12th  inst.  longer  than 
I  ought,  in  the  hope  that  my  official  duties  might 
take  on  some  phase  or  shape  that  would  admit 
of  my  attendance.  With  deep  regret  I  now  find 
myself  obliged  to  say  that  I  cannot  be  present. 

Lincoln  see-ms  to  be  the  most  interesting  per- 
sonality that  has  appeared  in  this  world  in  sev- 
eral centuries.  There  may  have  been  many  men 
intellectually  as  great  as  he,  but  no  one  has  struck 
the  popular  chord  that  he  did.  His  name  has 
gone  wherever  men  are  found  who  employ  a 
written  form  of  speech.  A  lady  who  has  spent 
much  of  her  life  in  Eussia  told  me  that  the  most 
ignorant  Russian  peasant  that  could  be  found 
knew  of  Lincoln  and  would  bow  his  head  and 
utter  a  blessing  in  his  memory  whenever  he  heard 
his  name  pronounced.  In  America  appreciation 
of,  and  gratitude  for,  his  great  patriotic  and  un- 
selfish service  augments  as  years  go  by.  Twenty 
years  ago  one  might  have  believed  the  apex  of 
Lincoln's  fame  had  been  reached,  but  it  grows 
on,  and  may  grow  for  another  century. 

No  man  was  ever  more  hated  and  contemned 
than  Lincoln  while  his  work  was  in  progress,  yet 
now  all  men  are  his  partisans.  Those— now 
grown  old— who  cursed  him  once  are  but  too  glad 
to  say  they  knew  him  and  shook  his  hand  while 
he  lived.  We  all  know  such  men,  and  it  would  be 
unkind,  not  to  say  cruel,  to  even  remind  them  of 
a  misjudgment  which  events  have  almost  made 
a  reproach. 


Judge  Phillips  49 

The  very  fact  of  this  prodigious  fame  which 
has  come  to  Lincoln  should  make  us  scan  very 
closely  and  critically  any  original  testimony 
which  now  comes  forward  as  to  the  facts  of  Lin- 
coln's life  and  work.  Weakness  and  vanity  are 
exceedingly  anxious  to  connect  themselves  in 
some  way  with  such  a  career  as  that  of  Lincoln. 
They  see  the  historical  band-wagon  and  naturally 
wish  to  get  aboard,  and  this  desire  is  producing 
many  myths  about  Lincoln  which  history  must 
ultimately  brush  aside.  If  Lincoln  had  kicked  a 
bumpkin  out  of  his  office  the  bumpkin  would  now 
almost  be  bragging  of  the  fact.  If  I  mistake  not, 
it  should  be  one  object  of  the  Lincoln  Fellow- 
ship to  collect  together  a  body  of  Lincolniana 
which  shall  be  reliable  and  can  be  tested  by  the 
touchstone  of  historic  truth.  The  men  who  met 
Lincoln  face  to  face,  and  who  at  the  time  were 
of  an  age  to  have  some  judgment  of  the  man,  are 
now  growing  very  scarce.  They  will  soon  all  be 
gone;  but  while  this  class  of  men  are  few,  the 
chatterers  and  myth-makers  are  many. 

All  new  facts  of  an  anecdotal  character,  which 
now  come  forward  and  which  cannot  be  tested  by 
documentary  or  other  legitimate  historical  evi- 
dence should  have  applied  to  them  the  strictest 
historical  criticism.  Out  of  the  mass  of  matter 
that  is  being  collected  so  rapidly,  and  which  bids 
fair  to  assume  perfectly  prodigious  proportions 
in  the  near  future,  the  final  historian  of  Lincoln 
will,  with  very  great  labor,  extract  the  true  his- 


50         Lincoln  Fellowship 

tory  of  this  most  wonderful  of  men.  Men  in  his 
own  day  and  time  saw  him  from  different  angles 
— one  saw  him  from  one  point  of  view,  and  an- 
other from  another.  It  will  take  them  all  to  make 
up  the  real  Lincoln  of  history,  and  the  final  his- 
torian must  be  discriminating  enough  to  reject 
utterly  a  great  deal  that  has  already  been  printed 
and  said  about  Lincoln. 

In  this  connection  let  me  say  that  Mr.  Horace 
White,  formerly  of  this  State,  now  of  New  York 
City,  read  before  the  Illinois  State  Historical 
Society  last  week  a  paper  upon  '' Lincoln  in 
1854,"  which  was  in  many  respects  the  clearest 
and  most  instructive  paper  that  I  have  ever  heard 
or  read  concerning  that  particular  period.  It  has 
also  an  intimate  bearing  on  other  periods  of  Lin- 
coln's life  and  work — all  of  which  renders  it  a 
paper  of  first  historical  importance.  When  so 
many  unreliable  people  are  coming  forward  with 
testimony  concerning  Lincoln,  and  are  telling 
their  apocryphal  anecdotes  about  him,  it  is  re- 
freshing to  meet  a  man  who  met  him  face  to  face, 
whose  memory  has  in  no  degree  failed,  and  who 
knows  what  he  knows,  and  is  too  conscientious  to 
tell  what  he  does  not  know.  You  will  do  well,  in 
my  judgment,  to  have  Mr.  White  heard  at  some 
meeting  of  the  club  in  the  near  future. 

I  hope  your  meeting  may  prove,  as  it  hardly 
can  fail  to  prove,  most  agreeable  and  profitable, 


Judge  Fish  51 

and  with  my  hearty  compliments  and  congratula- 
tions to  the  club,  I  remain, 

Very  truly  yours, 

Isaac  N.  Phillips. 
Fkancis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary. 

Letter  from  Judge  Fish. 

Minneapolis,  Minn.^  Feb.  10,  1908. 
My  dear  Sir: — I  find  it  impracticable  to  go  to 
New  York  for  the  Fellowship  Dinner  at  Del- 
monico's.  There  are  many  reasons  for  desiring 
to  be  there.  I  should  meet  again  most  of  the 
genial  band  of  Lincolnites  whom  I  have  seen  face 
to  face,  and  clasp  hands  with  many  others  whose 
acquaintance  thus  far  rests  in  correspondence 
only.  I  should  hope  to  see  in  the  flesh  my  friend 
McLellan,  whose  telephone  voice  I  know,  and 
whose  house  I  once  visited  in  his  absence,  only  to 
find  his  treasures  of  Lincolniana  so  carefully 
guarded  that  I  was  unable  to  make  off  with  any 
of  them.  True,  Stewart  will  be  there,  a  man  to 
be  feared ;  for  he  wants  some  of  my  choicest  items, 
and  will  wheedle  me  out  of  them  if  I  give  him 
half  a  chance.  But  Maj.  Lambert,  the  Prince  of 
our  collecting  tribe,  will  be  in  the  chair,  whose 
gracious  presence  might  restrain,  for  the  moment, 
all  unseemly  greed.  And  I  should  see  you,  my 
dear  Tandy,  who  know  better  than  all  others  how 
happy  I  would  be  to  break  bread  with  that  noble 
company. 


52         Lincoln  Fellowship 

Moreover  I  have  always  wanted  to  dine  at  Del- 
monico's.  You  know — for  you  have  lived  in  the 
West — how  every  Western  man  yearns  for  that 
distinction.  Even  Abraham  Lincoln  never  dined 
at  Delmonico's;  he  used  to  ''put  up"  at  the  Astor 
House.  A  dinner  at  Delmonico's  would  round  out 
my  career — finish  it,  perhaps,  but  finish  it  glori- 
ously. The  modern  splendors  of  the  Waldorf- 
Astoria  hold  no  such  attraction  for  me — I  would 
rather  stop  with  Simeon  Ford,  up  by  the  ' '  Grand 
Central  Depew."  I  have  never  had  the  courage 
to  go  to  Delmonico's  unattended,  nor  to  ask  any 
one  to  go  with  me,  but  in  company  with  the  Lin- 
coln Fellowship  I  could  venture  fearlessly.  And 
now,  Alas!  owing  to  la  grippe  and  the  anti-pass 
law,  very  likely  my  only  chance  has  passed. 

Kindly  give  my  warmest  regards  to  all  who 
attend,  together  with  this  suggestion.  Would  it 
not  be  well  to  name  a  committee  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  call  attention  to  the  errors  of  those 
who  write  loosely  about  our  hero.  In  Bartlett's 
article,  for  example,  on  ''The  Physiogomy  of 
Lincoln, ' '  so  sumptuously  reprinted  by  Houghton, 
Mifilin  &  Co.,  a  certain  photograph  is  said  to  have 
been  taken  ' '  on  the  2nd  of  November,  the  Sunday 
before  the  delivery  of  the  Gettysburg  address." 
Not  a  very  harmful  misstatement,  to  be  sure,  but 
obviously  wrong.  On  page  35  of  the  reprint,  how- 
ever, is  this :  "a  weird  and  mysterious  being,  who 
came  into  the  world  against  convention."    If  any 


Dr.  Barrage  53 

doubt  remains  touching  Lincoln's  legitimacy,  can 
we  not  do  something  to  end  it? 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

Daniel  Fish. 
Fkancis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary.  ^ 

Letter  feom  Dr.  Burrage. 

ToGus,  Me.,  Feb.  6,  1908. 

My  dear  Sir: — It  would  give  me  very  great 
pleasure  to  attend  the  annual  meeting  and  dinner 
of  the  Lincoln  Fellowship,  February  12,  and 
especially  to  listen  to  the  address  by  Gen.  James 
Grant  Wilson;  but  Togus  is  far  away,  and  I  can 
be  with  you  only  in  spirit.  A  year  hence,  at  the 
centennial  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  birth,  I  hope  I 
may  be  with  you  in  person  and  share  with  you  in 
immortal  memories. 

The  first  time  I  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  my 
junior  year  at  Brown  University.  The  famous 
Cooper  Institute  address  was  delivered  February 
27,  1860.  The  next  night  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in 
Providence,  R.  I.,  on  his  way  to  Exeter,  N.  H.^ 
to  visit  his  son  Robert,  who  was  in  the  academy" 
at  that  place  preparing  to  enter  Harvard.  It 
had  been  arranged  that  Mr.  Lincoln  should  make 
a  few  speeches  in  New  England  during  this  trip, 
and  so  come  in  closer  touch  with  the  Republican 
party  in  New  England.  The  first  of  these 
speeches  Mr.  Lincoln  made  in  Providence  Rail- 
road Hall.  The  largest  hall  in  the  city  was 
secured  for  tKe  occasion,  and  it  was  crowded. 


54         Lincoln  Fellowship 

A  State  election  in  Ehode  Island  was  about  to 
take  place,  and  in  opening  his  speech  Mr.  Lincoln 
held  in  his  hand  a  copy  of  a  Providence  Demo- 
cratic paper  containing  an  editorial  aimed  at  him, 
and  reading  him  a  lecture  for  coming  into  Rhode 
Island  to  interfere  in  a  State  election.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln read  extracts  from  this  editorial,  and  by  his 
witty  comments  upon  it  soon  had  his  audience 
interested  in  anything  he  might  say.  He  then 
entered  upon  his  address,  which  was  for  the  most 
part  a  repetition  of  his  Cooper  Institute  address. 

Some  years  ago  President  Angell  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  was  in  Portland  visiting 
Judge  Putnam  (of  the  United  States  District 
Court)  with  whom  he  had  been  associated  on  the 
Fisheries  Commission,  and  as  President  Angell 
was  a  professor  at  Brown  in  my  student  days  I 
was  invited  to  meet  him.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's visit  as  referred  to  above,  President  Angell 
was  editor  of  the  Providence  Journal,  as  well  as  a 
professor  in  Brown  University.  During  the  even- 
ing I  spent  with  him  at  Judge  Putnam's,-  reference 
was  made  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  visit  and  speech  at 
Providence,  and  during  the  conversation  Presi- 
dent Angell  told  the  following  story:  He  said 
Rhode  Island  was  in  favor  of  the  nomination  of 
Mr.  Seward  for  the  Presidency.  After  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's nomination,  wishing  through  the  Provi- 
dence Journal  to  create  as  pleasing  an  impression 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  was  possible,  he  wrote  to  John 
Hay,  who  having  graduated  at  Brown  in  the  class 


Dr.  Burrage  55 

of  1858  was  then  studying  law  in  Mr.  Lincoln's 
office  at  Springfield,  111.,  and  asked  him  to  write 
for  the  Providence  Journal  four  papers  on  Lin- 
coln. John  Hay  wrote  the  articles,  but  when  they 
reached  the  office  of  the  Journal  Prof.  Angell 
found  that  they  made  prominent  just  those  things 
in  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  that  he  wished  to  overlook — 
his  lowly  origin,  his  lack  of  good  early  advan- 
tages, his  experiences  as  a  circuit-riding  lawyer, 
his  homely  stories,  etc.  The  result  was  that  in  his 
desire  to  present  only  those  aspects  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln's life  that  would  exalt  him  in  the  eyes  of  the 
readers  of  the  Journal  he  was  obliged  to  use  the 
blue  pencil  very  freely.  ''What  would  I  not  now 
give  to  have  those  four  papers  just  as  John  Hay 
wrote  them!"  said  President  Angell. 

Wishing  you  and  the  associates  in  the  Fellow- 
ship a  most  enjoyable  evening, 

I  remain  yours  very  truly, 

Henry  S.  Bukrage. 

Francis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Bartlett. 

Jamaica  Plain,  Mass.,  Jan.  28,  1908. 
Dear  Mr.  Tandy: — Your  kind  letter  enclosing 
Lincoln  blotter  is  gladly  read.  I  heartily  join  in 
every  scrap  of  interest  that  can  be  conceived  of 
as  likely  to  make  the  Fellowship  a  truly  warm 
body,  yet  it  won't  discourage  me  one  whit  if  there 
are  not  more  than  six  healthy  souls  around  its 


56         Lincoln  Fellowship 

noTirisliiiig  board.  Your  hope  is  good  and  it 
ought  to  be  fully  gratified,  but  I  think  the  Fel- 
lowship will  grow  gradually,  and  be  made  up  of 
those  who  are  seriously  interested  in  all  that  con- 
cerns Lincoln,  almost  one  might  say,  a  select 
crowd — students,  thinkers,  lovers,  etc.,  etc.  So 
don't  be  disheartened  if  you  do  not  have  a  large 
number.  I  imagine  that  the  usual  birthday  dinner 
will  affect  the  Fellowship  more  or  less.  I  may 
be  all  out,  but  I  think  the  Fellowship  is  going  to 
do  a  great  deal  of  good  in  ways  not  included  in 
the  various  means  now  active.  It  will  take  some 
time  to  find  out  just  who  are  the  genuine  students 
of  Lincoln's  life,  and  get  them  into  a  company. 

The  bust  of  Lincoln  by  Borgham  is  far  beyond 
any  other  I  have  seen — more  of  the  sense  of 
sculpture.    Good  luck! 

Very  truly, 

T.  H.  Bartlett. 

Francis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Jones. 

Chicago,  Feb.  7,  1908. 

Dear  Sir: — Distance  forbids  my  being  present 
at  the  dinner  of  the  Lincoln  Fellowship,  much 
as  I  rejoice  in  the  occasion.  There  is  no  other 
name  in  America  to-day  so  effective  and  so 
worthy  of  being  used  when  we  would  conjure  the 
noble,  the  open,  and  the  tender  in  human  nature. 


Mr.  Lincoln  57 

Emerson  said  he  "loved  every  man  who  loved 
Plato. ' '    By  the  same  token  I  love  every  man  that 
loves  Lincoln.    My  greetings  to  the  brotherhood. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones. 
Fkancis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Lincoln. 

Chicago,  III.,  Feb.  28,  1908. 
Dear  Sir: — I  have  your  letter  of  February  28 
advising  me  that  the  Executive  Committee  of  The 
Lincoln  Fellowship  have  elected  me  an  honorary 
member.  I  assure  you  I  very  greatly  appreciate 
the  numerous  evidences  of  the  regard  in  which 
my  father's  memory  is  held,  such  as  the  organiza- 
tion of  your  association,  and  I  appreciate  very 
highly  the  action  of  your  Committee. 
Very  truly  yours, 

Egbert  T.  Lincoln. 
Francis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Cleveland. 

Princeton,  N.  J.,  March  3,  1908. 
My  dear  Sir: — I  desire  to  express  my  deep 
appreciation  of  the  action  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  The  Lincoln  Fellowship,  in  bestowing 
upon  me  an  honorary  membership  in  the  organ- 
ization. I  am  in  full  sympathy  with  every  effort 
intended  to  perpetuate  the  virtues  and  achieve- 
ments of  the  great  American  who,  in  the  highest 


58         Lincoln  Fellowship 

place  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  never  neglected 
their  interests  or  flagged  in  his  devotion  to  a 
united  country.  Yours  very  truly, 

Geover  Cleveland. 
Francis  D.  Tandy,  Secretary. 

The  Secretary  read  the  minutes  of  the  previous 
meeting,  which  were  approved  as  read. 

The  Treasurer  read  the  following  report  of  the 
finances  of  The  Fellowship  : 
Received  from  dues $84.00 

Expenditures. 
Eoom  for  meeting— June  27th,  1907.$  5.00 

Postage  to  date 10.00 

Miscellaneous  printing  and  station- 
ery       28.67 

Miscellaneous   expenditures 2.00    46.47 

Balance  on  hand $37.53 

The  bills  were  approved  and  ordered  paid. 
The  report  was  accepted  and  placed  on  file. 
The  following  officers  were  then  elected : 
President,  Major  William  H.  Lambert,  of 
Philadelphia;  Vice-Presidents,  General  James 
Grant  Wilson,  of  New  York ;  Judge  Daniel  Fish, 
of  Minneapolis ;  Charles  W.  McLellan,  of  Cham- 
plain,  N.  Y. ;  Joseph  B.  Oakleaf,  of  Moline,  111. ; 
Alonzo  Eothschild,  of  East  Foxboro,  Mass.; 
Colonel  Alexander  K.  McClure,  of  Philadel- 
phia; and  Miss  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  of  New  York; 


Business  Meeting  59 

Secretary,  Francis  D.  Tandy,  of  New  York; 
Treasurer,  Judd  Stewart,  of  New  York. 

A  proposition  was  made  by  Mr.  Tandy  for  The 
Fellowship  to  offer  a  series  of  prizes  for  the  best 
essays  on  '* Abraham  Lincoln  as  a  Writer,"  to  be 
open  to  any  resident  of  the  United  States  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  On  motion  of  Mr.  Oak- 
leaf,  seconded  by  Mr.  Stewart,  the  President  was 
instructed  to  appoint  a  committee  of  five  members 
to  consider  this  matter,  with  full  power  to  act. 
The  President  appointed  the  following: 

Joseph  B.  Oakleaf,  Chairman;  Francis  D. 
Tandy,  Chas.  W.  McLellan,  Daniel  H.  Newhall, 
Harry  Douglas  Robins. 

On  motion  of  General  Wilson,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Oakleaf,  the  President  was  instructed  to  appoint 
a  committee  of  five  members  with  full  power  to 
act,  to  make  arrangements  for  our  next  Annual 
Dinner  and  Meeting.  The  President  appointed 
the  following: 

General  James  Grant  Wilson,  Chairman;  Fred- 
erick H.  Meserve,  Frederick  Trevor  Hill,  Telamon 
Cuyler,  Francis  D.  Tandy. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned. 


60         Lincoln  Fellowship 

OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  1908. 

President, 
Major  William  H.  Lambert. 

Vice-Presidents, 
Gen.  James  Grant  Wilson, 
Judge  Daniel  Fish, 
Charles  W.  McLellan, 
Joseph  B.  Oakleaf, 
Alonzo  Rothschild, 
Col.  Alexander  K.  McClure, 
Miss  Ida  Tarbell. 

Secretary, 
Francis  D.  Tandy. 

Treasurer, 
Judd  Stewart. 

Members, 
Hon.  Danforth  Ainsworth, 
H.  E.  Barker, 
Truman  H.  Bartlett, 
David  Homer  Bates, 
Hon.  Oswald  A.  Bauer, 
E.  M.  Bowman, 
A.  M.  Bullock, 
Rev.  Henry  S.  Burrage, 
Maj.  Charles  Burrows, 
Rev.  S.  Parkes  Cadman, 
Arthur  Astor  Carey, 


Members  61 

Charles  Caverno, 
Hon.  Grover  Cleveland, 
Mrs.  Maurice  W.  Cooley, 
Judge  Leroy  B.  Crane, 
Telamon  Cuyler, 
Fred  DeFau, 
E.  J.  DesMoineaux, 
George  Dunlop, 
Cleveland  A.  Dunn, 
Mrs.  G.  L.  S.  Dyche, 
Albert  S.  Edwards, 
George  B.  Fairhead, 
Orrin  S.  Goan, 
Rev.  A.  C.  Grier, 
Gen.  James  H.  Harris, 
William  P.  Hickok, 
Frederick  Trevor  Hill, 
Gen.  Oliver  Otis  Howard, 
Stuart  W.  Jackson, 
Darwin  R.  James,  Jr. 
Edward  S.  Johnson, 
Rev.  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones, 
Perry  D.  Knapp, 
George  A.  Lancaster, 
Prof.  Duncan  Campbell  Lee, 
Rev.  George  T.  Lemmon, 
Hon.  Robert  T.  Lincoln, 
John  S.  Little, 
C.  H.  Lyman, 
Hugh  McLellan, 
Malcolm  Nye  McLellan, 


62  Lincoln  Fellowship 


Col.  James  F.  McNeill, 
Isaac  Markens, 
Watts  L.  Mason, 
J.  B.  Merwin, 
Frederick  Hill  Meserve, 
John  T.  Morse,  Jr., 
Daniel  H.  Newhall, 
0.  H.  Oldroyd, 
Alfred  Orendorif, 
Hon.  Isaac  N.  Phillips, 
Eev.  W.  S.  Eichardson, 
George  Thomas  Eitchie, 
G.  W.  H.  Eitchie, 
Andrew  Eussel, 
W.  E.  Sandford, 
Francis  H.  Sawyer, 
A.  Lincoln  Seligman, 
Miss  Maisie  Shainwald, 
Mrs.  Ealph  L.  Shainwald, 
Ealph  L.  Shainwald, 
Joseph  W.  Smitley, 
William  L.  Stooksbury, 
David  D.  Thompson, 
Newell  D.  Tibbals, 
Charles  A.  Tinker, 
Gilbert  A.  Tracy, 
Norman  Veitch, 
Jesse  William  Weik, 
Edgar  T.  Welles, 
Horace  White, 
Frederick  G.  Wilson. 


^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.7L63FL63P  C001 

PROCEEDINGS  AT  THE  ANNUAL  WEETING. 
1  1908 

3  0112  031815670 


